Record Store Day sees Long Islanders in line before dawn to snag limited-edition music
Patrick Stankard, of Babylon, looks at his records with his son Patrick Jr., 4, on Record Store Day at Looney Tunes Record Store in West Babylon on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Mike Castellano began collecting vinyl records when he was 10.
Five decades later, through the transition to cassettes, CDs, digital music and streaming, the Lindenhurst man’s collection has grown to about 16,000 pieces, he said.
On Saturday morning, Castellano, 62, arrived at Record Stop in Patchogue shortly after 2:30 a.m. ready to hunt for a few rare items to add to his collection on Record Store Day. Held biannually, in mid-April and on Black Friday, the event began in 1998 as a way to celebrate independent record stores.
Artists release limited edition vinyl records and promotional items specific for Record Store Day, drawing thousands of music enthusiasts to Long Island’s record stores.
"I'm probably the oldest one on the line, but I'll get out here and do this every single year," Castellano said shortly before the 8 a.m. store opening.
For many in line who waited hours for the chance to purchase a few records, the day is about celebrating music, supporting local businesses and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow fans.
Castellano was third in line at Record Stop behind Vincent Greco, 27, and Kristina Morris, 36, friends from Shirley.
Greco had his sights set on "Wicked: One Wonderful Night (Live)" while Morris said she planned to purchase Taylor Swift’s 7" vinyl single "Elizabeth Taylor" and Tate McRae’s "Hung Up on You," which was limited to 3,000 copies.
"It’s fun," Greco said. "It gets everyone out. You get to see what everyone’s here for. I feel like it gets bigger and bigger every year."
At 8 a.m., the doors officially opened at Record Stop with store members granted first access to the special releases organized alphabetically in bins.
Rob Graw, the store's operations manager, said it’s an "amazingly fun day" as people pursue records that a were available for one day only. He expected customers to flood the store "from the minute we open to the minute we close at 8 p.m."
Several hundred waiting
At Looney Tunes in West Babylon, the line stretched several hundred customers deep on Saturday morning. The store posted a photo on social media of the first five customers on line before the sun set on Friday.
Co-owner Karl Groeger Jr. said the store accommodated about 500 customers within 90 minutes of opening.
"It’s been a great day," he said as he greeted customers outside. "Everybody’s in really good spirits and they’re having a lot of fun."
Caitlyn Westley, 32, of Levittown, said she’s a newcomer to vinyl collecting and was attending her first Record Store Day event. She arrived with a friend around 6 a.m. and exited the store happily 3 1/2 hours later with several vinyl records in tow, including releases from Taylor Swift and Hilary Duff.
Harley Davis, 43, of Shirley, got in line in West Babylon at 5:30 a.m. He hoped to secure an obscure title of a Japanese pianist whom he saw perform at the Lightscape holiday event at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
The lone copy, however, was already gone.
But he did snag other albums he sought from artists like the Grateful Dead, Slipknot and Miles Davis, representing his diverse musical palette.
"I’ve got everything under the sun," he said. "Grateful Dead, to pianists, to jazz to heavy metal."
Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 30: Baseball, All-Long Island and Plays of the Week! On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Gregg stops by Kings Park to check out their pitching staff and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 30: Baseball, All-Long Island and Plays of the Week! On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Gregg stops by Kings Park to check out their pitching staff and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
